Taking an Elephant ride up the hill has become an indispensable part of a visit to the Amer Fort in Jaipur, Rajasthan.
It has become so popular that tourists are made to feel like they have missed out on something if they don’t take the ride.
While there is no doubt that the Elephant rides uphill through the majestic fort gives the tourists an experience of a lifetime, there is a dark side to it.
The ‘Elephant In The Room’ here is the Elephants themselves, or the way they are treated, to be exact.
The nearly half-an-hour long joyride up and down the hill costs Rs 1,100 for two passengers however has a hidden cost – the health and wellbeing of the Elephants.
Waiting for the tourists!
Amer Fort is a tourist attraction in India where sick, blind, and suffering Eephants are forced to give tourists rides hour after hour. Day after day. For years and years.
The Elephants at the fort which are used to ferry the tourists have to make multiple trips up and down throughout the day, even in the scorching heat.
As the tourist numbers grow and the popularity of the joyrides increases the Elephants have to overwork, often without proper time for food and rest. There have been at least a couple of incidents in the past few years exhausted Elephants collapsed and died.
Trainers beat Elephants with weapons and traumatise these gentle giants with a life of exhausting work, violence, neglected injuries, malnourishment, dehydration, and routine chaining. In fact, one foreign tourist recently filed an official cruelty complaint after witnessing trainers assault an Elephant for 10 minutes after the suffering animal tried to escape at the Amber Fort near Jaipur, Rajasthan. Even though the majority of Indians are Hindus – who deem Elephants sacred and worship the Elephant-headed god Ganesha – in the tourist industry, life for these animals consists of fear and agony. Those whose open wounds cause them pain or whose vision is impaired aren’t even allowed to rest. They’re forced to carry humans on their backs in the oppressive heat by men who threaten them with rods and bullhooks (sticks with a sharp metal hook at the end).
World Animal Protection, an international NGO has been running a campaign for years to end the use of Elephants for rides in the Amer Fort, alleging that the animals have been subjected to cruelty and ill-treatment for the sake of the tourists.
World Animal Protection held a screening of a documentary that showed how the animals are treated.
“Elephants are wild animals and they deserve to be in the wild. Amer Fort in Jaipur city is not a place for an Elephant. This is not their natural habitat. We must put an end of Elephant rides at Amer Fort,” said Gajender K Sharma, Country Director, World Animal Protection India.
An Amber Fort Elephant, with damaged feet from carrying tourists, kneels on a concrete floor.
According to Shubhubroto Ghosh, Wildlife Research Manager, World Animal Protection India, the campaign is aimed at ending the practice of using wildlife as a source of entertainment and have them retired and give them a life of dignity.
But where did the Elephants come from?
Given the fact that Rajasthan is a desert state, it is only natural to assume that Elephants are not native species, which is genetically adapted to live in the hot and dry conditions there.
According to wildlife campaigners, these Elephants were captured from the forests of Assam at a young age and sold at the traditional ‘Hathi bazar’ (elephant market) in Bihar’s Sonpur until 2004 when it was declared illegal. They also allege that despite the ban, elephants are still sold at the fair and are brought to states like Rajasthan.
Once the Elephants are brought to Jaipur, they are sheltered at the Hathi Gaon (Elephant village) where they are tamed and trained as ride animals.
“The village was meant to be a safe and comfortable place for the elephants to stay. But it is nothing than a car shed for Elephants. It is ill-equipped to house an animal like an Elephant. During the training, Elephants are starved, kept on chains. They go through a process called ‘the crush’, they are beaten badly to make them obedient,” Ghosh explained.
Another striking thing that one can notice at the Amer Fort is the sheer number of female Elephants. This, Ghosh said is no accident, but is a part of the design as it is easier to train and control female Elephants.
According to Ghosh, they are demanding a total ban on using the Elephants for rides as the authorities have failed to implement the existing rules.
Rangoli’s story
Rangoli was born at UNESCO World Heritage Site, Amer Fort, into a life of pain, captivity, and cruelty. For her entire 51-year life, Rangoli has suffered for the entertainment of tourists.
Currently, Rangoli is forced to carry tourists on her back, which is painful and creates sores. Rangoli endures this pain while walking over hot concrete and difficult cobblestones that damage their feet every day. Only to then spend her nights standing in her own feces, while chained when she ‘rests’.
With your support you can help end Elephant rides at Amer Fort and can begin the process of safely retiring Rangoli and all the other Elephants that are suffering.
A “once-in-a-lifetime” experience for you is a lifetime of suffering for them. Now is our moment to end this cruelty.
You can support ‘Protect All Wildlife’ by donating as little as £1 – It only takes a minute but it can last a lifetime for an animal in need. Please donate below.
Everyone who donates will receive a Certificate of Appreciation as a thank you for helping animals in need.
The Mission of Protect All Wildlife is to prevent cruelty and promote the welfare of ALL animals.
We believe EVERY animal should be treated with respect, empathy, and understanding. We raise awareness to protect and conserve wild, captive, companion and farm animals.
It is vital that we protect animals against acts of cruelty, abuse, and neglect by enforcing established animal welfare laws and, when necessary, take action to ensure that those who abuse animals are brought to justice.
Protect All Wildlife are involved in many projects to protect animals’ rights, welfare, and habitats. Money contributed to Protect All Wildlife supports ALL of our worthy programmes and gives us the flexibility to respond to emerging needs. Your donations make our work possible.
A 41-year-old African Elephant who had lived alone at a Puerto Rican zoo could get a new lease on life in Georgia.
Mundi, the only Elephant at Puerto Rico Zoo
For years, Mundi and the other animals at the Puerto Rico Zoo have been suffering in silence. In 2018, the USDA cancelled the zoo’s exhibitor’s license after citing dozens of violations including lack of veterinary care, expired food and medications, and a failure to protect animals from extreme heat and physical hazards, among other issues.
Nonprofit Elephant Aid International says they were recently asked to rescue Mundi the Elephant, who has been living in the defunct Dr. Juan A. Rivero Zoo in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. According to NBC News, the zoo had been closed to the public since hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017 and was forced to shut down in February after accusations of negligence and the death of animals.
MUNDI
“For nearly 35 years, she has lived alone in a small yard with access to an enclosed shelter where she is chained at night,” the nonprofit said in a statement.
Now the organization, which is located in Attapulgus, Georgia, wants to help Mundi live her best and most fulfilling life for the rest of her days.
Elephant Aid International is raising money to help transport Mundi to their sanctuary, where she can remain outdoors and live as naturally as possible.
“Mundi will fly on a dedicated 747 flight. If everything goes as planned, she will arrive at the Refuge the first week of May,” the organization said. “Mundi’s future will be spent living free at ERNA, experiencing independence for the first time ever. She will immerse herself in nature and develop deep friendships that will help her discover her authentic elephant self.”
The nonprofit’s Georgia refuge spans 850 acres of hills, forests, lakes, and creeks. It is not open to the public, though Elephant lovers can watch on the organization’s “EleCam” on Youtube.
Currently, two Elephants live in the refuge. Bo and Tarra are both Asian Elephants who were rescued after years of performing in circuses.
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WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP WILDLIFE:
You can support ‘Protect All Wildlife’ by donating as little as £1 – It only takes a minute but it can last a lifetime for an animal in need. Please donate below.
Everyone who donates will receive a Certificate of Appreciation as a thank you for helping animals in need.
The Mission of Protect All Wildlife is to prevent cruelty and promote the welfare of ALL animals.
We believe EVERY animal should be treated with respect, empathy, and understanding. We raise awareness to protect and conserve wild, captive, companion and farm animals.
It is vital that we protect animals against acts of cruelty, abuse, and neglect by enforcing established animal welfare laws and, when necessary, take action to ensure that those who abuse animals are brought to justice.
Protect All Wildlife are involved in many projects to protect animals’ rights, welfare, and habitats. Money contributed to Protect All Wildlife supports ALL of our worthy programmes and gives us the flexibility to respond to emerging needs. Your donations make our work possible.
Earlier this month, authorities from the Special Area of the City of (DKI) Jakarta, the most populous metropolitan area in Indonesia, which includes the capital city, announced they have banned the dog and cat meat trades, which will save the lives of an estimated 340 dogs and countless cats per day.
Jakarta Bans The Dog & Cat Meat Trade Credit: Jean Chung / HSI
Hollywood actress Kim Basinger, comedian Ricky Gervais and British actor Peter Egan have joined campaigners from the Dog Meat Free Indonesia coalition in celebrating news that Indonesia’s capital city of Jakarta has banned the dog and cat meat trade. The stars sent a video message after the Food Security, Marine and Agriculture Department confirmed Jakarta now becomes the 21st jurisdiction in Indonesia to ban the trade. The move comes in response to an intensive campaign by DMFI, exposing the severe animal cruelty and risks to human health from zoonotic diseases such as rabies.
A Dog Awaits Its Fate – Credit: Dog Meat-Free Indonesia
Across Indonesia, more than one million dogs and countless cats are killed every year for meat, most of them stolen pets or strays, snatched from the streets and illegally trafficked on grueling journeys to supply demand hotspots. Many die during this ordeal from heatstroke, dehydration or injuries inflicted during capture and transport. Those who survive are taken to makeshift slaughterhouses where they are bludgeoned and killed in full view of other dogs. DMFI investigations suggest that in Jakarta, an estimated 9,520 dogs per month or around 340 dogs every day are killed for meat.
The Ban Is Too Late For These Dogs -Credit: Dog Meat-Free Indonesia
Lola Webber, director of campaigns to End Dog Meat at Humane Society International, a DMFI member group, commented:
“A dog and cat meat trade ban in Indonesia’s capital city Jakarta is hugely significant, not just because of the thousands of animals killed every year for the city’s trade, but also because it recognizes that this cruel trade risks spreading rabies. Jakarta’s rabies-free status is jeopardized every day that the dog meat trade continues to traffic dogs of unknown disease status into the city.”
The dog meat trade is now banned in 21 cities and regencies across Indonesia. The regencies are Karanganyar, Sukoharjo, Semarang, Blora, Brebes, Purbalingga, Mojokerto, Temanggung, Jepara and Magelang. The cities are Salatiga, Malang, Semarang, Magelang, Blitar, Mojokerto, Medan, Surabaya and now, Jakarta.
Globally, intolerance of animal cruelty and concern for human health is seeing an ever-growing number of countries, territories, provinces, regencies and cities passing explicit laws prohibiting the trade in and slaughtering and consumption of dogs and cats.
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WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP WILDLIFE:
You can support ‘Protect All Wildlife’ by donating as little as £1 – It only takes a minute but it can last a lifetime for an animal in need. Please donate below.
Everyone who donates will receive a Certificate of Appreciation as a thank you for helping animals in need.
The Mission of Protect All Wildlife is to prevent cruelty and promote the welfare of ALL animals.
We believe EVERY animal should be treated with respect, empathy, and understanding. We raise awareness to protect and conserve wild, captive, companion and farm animals.
It is vital that we protect animals against acts of cruelty, abuse, and neglect by enforcing established animal welfare laws and, when necessary, take action to ensure that those who abuse animals are brought to justice.
Protect All Wildlife are involved in many projects to protect animals’ rights, welfare, and habitats. Money contributed to Protect All Wildlife supports ALL of our worthy programmes and gives us the flexibility to respond to emerging needs. Your donations make our work possible.
They are the country’s icon – but behind the dazzle of religious festivals and tourist ‘attractions’, these giants of the wild are painfully abused in Thailand.
Some Elephants in Thailand are captured from the wild or bred in captivity and then forced to perform like monkeys to humans for the rest of their lives. When small they are beaten with sticks until they are broken, like a horse, or else they would not do what the humans tell them.
When small they are beaten with sticks until they are broken.
When they are not performing they are shackled in chains and when they come into heat or ‘musk’ they are re-beaten again to make them tame – THIS IS THE REALITY of your trip to see the Elephants in Thailand! Please do not support captive Elephants and only visit the ones that are free and not shackled – humans paying these people only make this continue – if we cut our money off, they will not continue doing this.
ALL temple elephants are shackled and beaten – do not be tricked into thinking they are not.
YOU PAY, THEY SUFFER!
I WILL STAND UP AND NOT BE AFRAID
I will stand up and not be afraid Of those who ask why I share the elephants suffering And show them on video coloured pink
I do it, Not because I support what I see I do it, Not to encourage you to go I do it, Not so you find the link To the website advertising such horror shows
I do it, To remind those that have a life That many who walk amongst us Are suffering at the hands of man Because humans say they can As there is no law to fight And animals have no rights
I do it, So the voiceless will be heard. I do it, To show you that it it is wrong of man To sink so low as to abuse these magnificent beasts So you may feast Upon the evil show Now you know.
Sadly, the person clapping knows The elephants do not love these shows These elephants are forced to perform for your enjoyment They have been abused since very young With bull hooks and chains To force them to obey A command by the human, Which destroys their natural ways And makes them servants of man
I call the elephants slaves to its mahout Because they cannot call a halt to the video shoot Because they cannot escape the strife That is their life.
Rachel Bose.
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP WILDLIFE:
You can support ‘Protect All Wildlife’ by donating as little as £1 – It only takes a minute but it can last a lifetime for an animal in need. Please donate below.
Everyone who donates will receive a Certificate of Appreciation as a thank you for helping animals in need.
Like many young bull Elephants, Brigadier had a strategy. Spending his days in a small patch of forest in northwest Sri Lanka, he would emerge under cover of darkness to feast on crops. One evening, he bundled into an army brigadier’s property, earning him his name and sealing his fate.
Government officials captured Brigadier and trucked him to Maduru Oya National Park. But he immediately took off, probably intending to find his way home, got lost, and wound up 120 kilometres north at Sampur beach. Incredibly, a navy boat discovered him swimming 5 kilometres offshore and towed him to safety.
After his big adventure, Brigadier settled down again, returning to his nocturnal crop-raiding routine. Six months later, he was found dead at the bottom of a well.
Apart from the swimming bit, stories like this are common in Sri Lanka, where habitat loss is forcing Elephants into an increasingly bloody conflict with humans. When I visited the country to report on efforts to stem the bloodshed, I found that the government’s favoured solution of moving problem Elephants into fenced-off national parks isn’t working. Some experts believe it will even backfire, pushing the species to the brink in the country.
The only way to secure the future of Sri Lanka’s Elephants, they argue, is to find ways to peacefully coexist with them. That is no mean feat. And yet, as I saw for myself in several villages, there is a simple solution. The question is, will it be implemented across the island? And will people accept that the Elephants must live among us or not at all?
Asian Elephants are under pressure. Their numbers have declined by an estimated 50 percent in the last 75 years, leaving just 40,000 to 50,000 in the wild. Although they aren’t poached anywhere near as much as their African cousins, their forest homes are being rapidly fragmented. Nowhere is the problem more acute than in Sri Lanka. It accounts for just 2 percent of their total habitat yet is home to over 5000 Asian Elephants – more than 10 percent of the remaining global population.
That so many Elephants remain here is a testament to the species’ cultural importance in the country. The majority of Sri Lankans are Buddhist and Elephants feature prominently in a number of stories about the Buddha’s previous reincarnations. Hinduism, Sri Lanka’s second-largest religion, also enjoys a close association with the animals in the form of the god Ganesh. “Elephants hold a very special place in our hearts,” says Prithiviraj Fernando, chairman of the Centre for Conservation and Research in Tissamaharama.
Yet as the island grows increasingly crowded and their habitat disappears, the lives of Elephants and humans are overlapping more and more. This puts Sri Lanka’s many farmers at constant odds with the animals, often with deadly consequences.
Hungry Elephants raid crops, trampling fields and sometimes people. In response, farmers attack the animals with flaming torches, firecrackers, home-made guns and even explosives embedded in fruit, known as hakka patas or “jaw exploders”. Last year, more than 300 Elephants were killed in altercations with humans and around 70 people lost their lives to Elephants. “Sri Lanka has the highest level of Human-Elephant conflict in the world,” says Fernando. “Wherever there are people and Elephants, there’s conflict.”
For more than 70 years, Sri Lanka has attempted to solve the problem by moving Elephants to national parks. According to the government’s approach, the world’s second-largest land animal belongs in protected areas surrounded by electric fencing, while people belong everywhere else. In many cases, as with Brigadier, problem animals are specifically targeted for translocation. Officials also attempt to clear whole herds using a colonial-era tactic called an Elephant drive. Day after day, sometimes for a year or more, hundreds of people venture into Elephant territory, setting off guns and thousands of “Elephant thunders” (a type of huge firecracker) to corral the animals into fenced areas.
Whichever method officials use to try to confine Elephants to parks, it doesn’t work. In 2012, Fernando and his colleagues published a study showing that of 16 translocated bull Elephants that the researchers had monitored over several years, two were killed within the park they were released in and none of the others stayed put. Some broke out and returned home while others established a new territory where they began raiding crops again.
Elephant drives produce similar results. Many males evade the round-up or break out soon after arriving at a park. The only ones that stick around are the females and calves, which tend to be more risk averse. They soon experience first-hand that Sri Lanka’s parks often lack the resources necessary to support hundreds of additional residents, each of which eats up to 140 kilograms of vegetation per day. The newcomers quickly become “emaciated, walking skeletons, and many starve to death”, says Fernando. “We’ve seen this over and over again wherever Elephants have been driven to parks and fenced in.”
I saw it for myself at Udawalawe National Park. Tourists raised their cameras as a mother and calf stepped out of the thick brush, but the Elephants were a disturbing sight, with jutting ribs, protruding shoulder blades and rope-like backbones. They plucked placidly at the short grass beneath their feet, but it clearly isn’t enough to sustain them. Like many Elephants confined to overcrowded national parks, they were on the verge of starvation.
That females and calves tend to suffer this fate is especially concerning, says Shermin de Silva, director of the Udawalawe Elephant Research Project and founder of Trunks & Leaves, a non-profit organisation focusing on Elephant research and outreach. Elephants have extremely slow reproduction rates, usually producing just one calf every six years. Earlier this year, based on mathematical modelling of Elephant population demographics from Udawalawe, de Silva reported that for Asian Elephants to maintain their numbers, females must reproduce at near-optimal rates and most calves must survive. Nutritional stress, in other words, can quickly push Elephant populations in Sri Lanka and beyond into tailspins. “For Elephants, the biggest threat is the calf that’s never born,” says de Silva.
The stark implications of this finding were reinforced earlier this year, when Fernando and his colleagues published the first nationwide Elephant survey. It showed that Elephants occur across 60 percent of the country – virtually everywhere that isn’t highly urbanised – and that 70 percent of them live side-by-side with humans. This not only means that Sri Lanka’s attempt to confine Elephants to parks has “completely failed”, says Fernando, but also that non-protected areas will have to play a critical role in the species’ survival. If Sri Lanka wants to save its Elephants, it has to find a way for people to live peacefully alongside them.
I saw just how difficult this is when I came across a bloated bull Elephant lying in a ditch by the side of a dirt road in north-west Sri Lanka, flies buzzing around two bullet wounds. A local man guessed it had been shot by a farmer in a nearby field and ran away before collapsing here. The animal was still alive when it was discovered, and a small crowd had gathered and erected a makeshift tent to give it some shade. Someone brought coconuts and bananas to try to feed it. Someone else brought water. Another person called the vet. When the Elephant died, a monk performed a ceremony to help ease it into the next life.
I left the scene feeling nauseous. But just a few minutes’ drive away, past neon green rice paddies and homes shaded by coconut and banana trees, I visited a place that is showing by example that there is an alternative.
In 2013, the village of Galewewa pioneered a programme designed by Fernando and his colleagues to use electric fences to encircle crops and homes rather than Elephants. The locals took some convincing. “People just assumed it wouldn’t be successful because they’d seen the government fences,” says Sampath Ekanayaka, manager of the Centre for Conservation and Research’s community programmes in the region. “To them, this was just another fence.”
In many ways, it is. But there are reasons to think the scheme would work. Elephants that encounter fences in national parks have “all the time in the world” to figure out how to get past the obstacles, says Fernando. Those that encounter a fence surrounding a village or crop field are unlikely to invest the time and energy required to break in because there will usually be people around, and Elephants are afraid of them.
Do Fence Me In
Eventually, after several years of deliberation, the village elders agreed to try the method. Fernando’s organisation paid for 90 percent of the installation costs, but villagers paid the rest, as well as shouldering the burden of maintaining the fences throughout the growing season. After harvesting, they take down the fences, allowing Elephants to forage on the crop remains.
The results have been encouraging. After six years with the fences, no people or Elephants have been killed, nocturnal raids are practically non-existent and crop yields and earnings have significantly increased. Galewewa’s success has prompted around 25 more villages to join the programme, and Sri Lanka’s wildlife department has now established another 30 village fences.
“I would 100 percent recommend this system to others in Sri Lanka,” says J.M.Muthubanda, president of the Fence Maintenance Society in Manakkuliya Gama, a village near Galewewa. “If we didn’t have this fence, many people would have been killed and we would have had to abandon the land. This was the best decision we ever made.”
Fencing can only ever be one part of the solution. Just as important is persuading people to change the way they think about living alongside Elephants – and to adapt their behaviour. People need to take responsibility for protecting themselves and the Elephants they share the land with, says Fernando.
Take drinking, for example. Around 70 percent of men who are killed by Elephants are intoxicated when the incident happens. Simply staying inside after a night of drinking would greatly reduce those deaths, says Sumith Pilapitiya, an independent Elephant researcher and former director general of wildlife conservation in Sri Lanka. “If you’re out drunk on a bike at night and you ride into an Elephant, what do you expect the Elephant to do at that point?” says Pilapitiya. “As human beings, we should be taking much more responsibility for our lives.”
Trains are another problem. Around 15 Elephants are killed each year on the tracks. Sri Lanka has few underpasses or overpasses but there is a straightforward fix. Train drivers could simply slowdown in the areas where Elephants tend to get hit.
What I saw in Galewewa shows that people can peacefully coexist with Elephants, so long as they have the right attitude and some semblance of support. Notionally at least, the Sri Lankan government is on board. As early as 2007, it created a national Elephant conservation plan that largely reflected the findings of Fernando, Pilapitiya and other Elephant researchers, including provisions for implementing seasonal agricultural fencing and educational programmes. But the plan was implemented ad hoc and has failed to live up to its potential as a result, says Pilapitiya, who resigned from his job heading Sri Lanka’s wildlife department in 2015 because of “systemic political interference”. G.C.Sooriyabandara, the current director-general of the Department of Wildlife Conservation, didn’t respond to repeated interview requests.
Still, there are signs of progress. In a first for Sri Lanka, the country’s Southern Development Board, following advice from Pilapitiya and Fernando, agreed to use radio tracking collars to study the movements of several herds of Elephants so it could select a site for a major industrial project that would minimise impact on the animals. “It’s the right thing to do, as far as I’m concerned,” says a high-level official at the board, who asked not to be named because he didn’t have permission to speak to the media.
As more and more villages sign up for his fencing programme, Fernando and his colleagues believe the country as a whole will eventually follow. “This is not something that can be done in a day or a year or even 10 years,” says Fernando. “It might take 25 years. But we’re hopeful that common sense will prevail.”
It is already too late for Brigadier. But if Fernando is right, Asian Elephants can look forward to a brighter future, and not only in Sri Lanka. The country’s human population density isn’t far behind that of India and Bangladesh, but it has almost 10 times the number of Elephants. This makes it a test case for Human-Elephant coexistence, says de Silva. “If we can get it to work in Sri Lanka, we can get it to work anywhere.”
From an original article by Rachel Nuwer for New Scientist
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One Elephant has died after colliding with a train between Habarana and Hatharaskotuwa, leaving two more Elephants injured, according to Habarana Police.
The Pulatisi inter-city express train, which was running from Batticaloa to Colombo Fort, was derailed at 01.30 a.m. today (13) after colliding with three wild Elephants between the Galoya and Hatharaskotuwa railway stations.
The train engine and another carriage were both derailed in this accident. As a result, the train will not run to Colombo Fort.
435 Elephants were killed due to Human Elephant Conflict in Sri Lanka in 2022.
“We have robbed Elephants of their homes to build rail roads, roads, villages and agricultural farms. They have been living in Sri Lanka from way before humans arrived. They have an equal right to live in Sri Lanka” said a spokesperson for Rally for Animal Rights- (RARE)
It’s alleged that the driver of the train has not reduced speed at this wildlife area.
A buzzing ball of cactus bees was awarded the top prize at the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.
The winners of the Natural History Museum’s prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition were announced at an awards ceremony in London today.
American photographer Karine Aigner was announced as this year’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year for her remarkable image of a buzzing ball of cactus bees spinning over the hot sand on a Texas ranch (top image).
Entitled “The Big Buzz”, her winning shot was taken close up at bee-level and shows all except one of the male insects intent on mating with the single female at the centre.
Organisers of the contest pointed out that, like most bees, the insects pictured are threatened by habitat loss, pesticides and climate change, along with farming practices that disrupt their nesting grounds.
All The Winners Of Wildlife Photographer Of The Year 2022
10 Years and under winner
Battle stations by Ekaterina Bee, Italy
Ekaterina Bee watches as two Alpine ibex spar for supremacy. It was near the end of a spring day trip with her family that Ekaterina spotted the fight. The two ibex clashed horns and continued to trade blows while standing on their hind legs like boxers in a ring. In the early 1800s, following centuries of hunting, fewer than 100 Alpine ibex survived in the mountains on the Italy–France border. Successful conservation measures mean that, today, there are more than 50,000.
Location: Pian della Mussa, Piedmont, Italy
11-14 Years Winner
Out of the fog by Ismael Domínguez Gutiérrez, Spain
Ismael Domínguez Gutiérrez reveals a monochromatic scene as an osprey sits on a dead tree, waiting for the fog to lift. When Ismael arrived at the wetland, he was disappointed not to be able to see beyond a few metres – and certainly he had no hope of glimpsing the grebes he wanted to photograph.
But as the fog began to lift, it revealed the opportunity for this striking composition. Ospreys are winter visitors to the province of Andalucía. Here the many reservoirs offer these widespread fish-eating raptors shallow, open water that is clearer than many rivers and lakes.
Location: Embalse de Los Hurones, Cádiz, Spain
15-17 Years Winner
The beauty of baleen by Katanyou Wuttichaitanakorn, Thailand
Katanyou Wuttichaitanakorn is intrigued by the contrasting colours and textures of a Bryde’s whale, which surfaces close by. Following government tourism guidelines, the tour boat Katanyou was travelling on turned off its engine as the whale appeared close by.
This meant that Katanyou had to steady his hands to capture this close-up composition as the boat rocked in the swell. Bryde’s whales have up to 370 pairs of grey-coloured plates of baleen growing inside their upper jaws. The plates are made of keratin, a protein that also forms human hair and nails, and are used to filter small prey from the ocean.
Location: Upper Gulf of Thailand, Phetchaburi, Thailand
Animals in their Environment winner
Spectacled bear’s slim outlook by Daniel Mideros
Daniel Mideros takes a poignant portrait of a disappearing habitat and its inhabitant. Daniel set up camera traps along a wildlife corridor used to reach high-altitude plateaus. He positioned the cameras to show the disappearing natural landscape with the bear framed at the heart of the image.
These bears, found from western Venezuela to Bolivia, have suffered massive declines as the result of habitat fragmentation and loss. Around the world, as humans continue to build and farm, space for wildlife is increasingly squeezed out.
Location: Peñas Blancas, Quito, Ecuador
Animal Portraits winner
Puff perfect by José Juan Hernández Martinez, Spain
José Juan Hernández Martinez witnesses the dizzying courtship display of a Canary Islands houbara.
José arrived at the houbara’s courtship site at night. By the light of the moon, he dug himself a low hide. From this vantage point he caught the bird’s full puffed-out profile as it took a brief rest from its frenzied performance. A Canary Islands houbara male returns annually to its courtship site to perform impressive displays.
Raising the plumes from the front of its neck and throwing its head back, it will race forward before circling back, resting just seconds before starting again.
Location: La Oliva, Fuerteventura, Spain
Behaviour: Invertebrates Winner
The big buzz by Karine Aigner
Karine Aigner gets close to the action as a group of bees compete to mate. Using a macro lens, Karine captured the flurry of activity as a buzzing ball of cactus bees spun over the hot sand. After a few minutes, the pair at its centre – a male clinging to the only female in the scrum – flew away to mate. The world’s bees are under threat from habitat loss, pesticides and climate change. With 70% of bee species nesting underground, it is increasingly important that areas of natural soil are left undisturbed.
Location: South Texas, USA
Behaviour: Birds Winner
The listening bird by Nick Kanakis, USA
Nick Kanakis gains a glimpse into the secret life of wrens. Nick spotted the young grey-breasted wood wren foraging. Knowing it would disappear into the forest if approached, he found a clear patch of leaf litter and waited. Sure enough, the little bird hopped into the frame, pressing its ear to the ground to listen for small insects. This prey-detecting technique is used by other birds, including the Eurasian blackbird. Grey-breasted wood wrens are ground-dwelling birds, often heard but not seen. They broadcast loud, melodious songs and rasping calls while hidden in the undergrowth.
Location: Tatamá National Park, Risaralda, Colombia
Behaviour: Mammals winner
The great cliff chase by Anand Nambiar, India
Anand Nambiar captures an unusual perspective of a snow leopard charging a herd of Himalayan ibex towards a steep edge. From a vantage point across the ravine, Anand watched the snow leopard manoeuvre uphill from the herd. It was perfectly suited for the environment – unlike Anand, who followed a fitness regime in preparation for the high altitude and cold temperatures. Snow leopards live in some of the most extreme habitats in the world. They are now classed as vulnerable. Threats include climate change, mining, and hunting of both the snow leopards and their prey.
Location: Kibber Wildlife Sanctuary, Himachal Pradesh, India
Oceans: The Bigger Picture Winner
New life for the tohorā by Richard Robinson, New Zealand
Richard Robinson captures a hopeful moment for a population of whales that has survived against all odds. Hindered by poor visibility, Richard used a polecam to photograph the whales gradually moving towards his boat. Pushing his camera to its limits in the dark water, he was relieved to find the image pin-sharp and the moment of copulation crystallised in time.
When ready to mate, the female southern right whale rolls onto its back, requiring the male to reach its penis across the female’s body. Known by the Māori as tohorā, the New Zealand population was hunted to near extinction in the 1800s, so every new calf offers new hope. Shot under New Zealand Department of Conservation permit #84845-MAR
Location: Deas Head, Auckland Islands, New Zealand
Plants and Fungi Winner
The magical morels by Agorastos Papatsanis, Greece
Agorastos Papatsanis composes a fairy tale scene in the forests of Mount Olympus. Enjoying the interplay between fungi and fairy tales, Agorastos wanted to create a magical scene. He waited for the sun to filter through the trees and light the water in the background, then used a wide-angle lens and flashes to highlight the morels’ labyrinthine forms. Morels are regarded as gastronomic treasures in many parts of the world because they are difficult to cultivate, yet in some forests they flourish naturally.
Location: Mount Olympus, Pieria, Greece
Natural Artistry winner
Heavenly flamingos by Junji Takasago, Japan
Junji Takasago powers through altitude sickness to produce a dream-like scene. Junji crept towards the preening group of Chilean flamingos. Framing their choreography within the reflected clouds, he fought back his altitude sickness to capture this dream-like scene. High in the Andes, Salar de Uyuni is the world’s largest salt pan. It is also one of Bolivia’s largest lithium mines, which threatens the future of these flamingos.
Lithium is used in batteries for phones and laptops. Together we can help decrease demand by recycling old electronics.
Location: Salar de Uyuni, Daniel Campos Province, Bolivia
Behaviour: Amphibians and Reptiles Winner
The bat-snatcher by Fernando Constantino Martínez Belmar, Mexico
Fernando Constantino Martínez Belmar waits in darkness as a Yucatan rat snake snaps up a bat. Using a red light to which both bats and snakes are less sensitive, Fernando kept an eye on this Yucatan rat snake poking out of a crack. He had just seconds to get the shot as the rat snake retreated into its crevice with its bat prey. Every evening at sundown in the Cave of the Hanging Snakes, thousands of bats leave for the night’s feeding. It is also when hungry rat snakes emerge, dangling from the roof to snatch their prey in mid-air.
Location: Kantemo, Quintana Roo, Mexico winner
Underwater Winner
Shooting star by Tony Wu, USA/Japan
Tony Wu watches the electrifying reproductive dance of a giant sea star. As the surrounding water filled with sperm and eggs from spawning sea stars, Tony faced several challenges. Stuck in a small, enclosed bay with only a macro lens for photographing small subjects, he backed up to squeeze the undulating sea star into his field of view, in this galaxy-like scene. The ‘dancing’ posture of spawning sea stars rising and swaying may help release eggs and sperm, or may help sweep the eggs and sperm into the currents where they fertilise together in the water.
Location: Kinko Bay, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan
Urban Wildlife Winner
House of bears by Dmitry Kokh, Russia
Dmitry Kokh presents this haunting scene of polar bears shrouded in fog at the long-deserted settlement on Kolyuchin. On a yacht, seeking shelter from a storm, Dmitry spotted the polar bears roaming among the buildings of the long-deserted settlement.
As they explored every window and door, Dmitry used a low-noise drone to take a picture that conjures up a post-apocalyptic future. In the Chukchi Sea region, the normally solitary bears usually migrate further north in the summer, following the retreating sea ice they depend on for hunting seals, their main food. If loose pack ice stays near the coast of this rocky island, bears sometimes investigate.
Location: Kolyuchin Island, Chukotka, Russia
Wetlands – The Bigger Picture Winner
The dying lake by Daniel Núñez, Guetamala
Daniel Núñez uses a drone to capture the contrast between the forest and the algal growth on Lake Amatitlán. Daniel took this photograph to raise awareness of the impact of contamination on Lake Amatitlán, which takes in around 75,000 tonnes of waste from
Guatemala City every year. “It was a sunny day with perfect conditions,” he says, “but it is a sad and shocking moment.” Cyanobacteria flourishes in the presence of pollutants such as sewage and agricultural fertilisers forming algal blooms. Efforts to restore the Amatitlán wetland are underway but have been hampered by a lack of funding and allegations of political corruption.
Location: Lake Amatitlán, Villa Canales, Guatemala
Photojournalism Winner
Ndakasi’s passing by Brent Stirton, South Africa
Brent Stirton shares the closing chapter of the story of a much-loved mountain gorilla. Brent photographed Ndakasi’s rescue as a two-month-old after her troop was brutally killed by a powerful charcoal mafia as a threat to park rangers. Here he memorialised her passing as she lay in the arms of her rescuer and caregiver of 13 years, ranger Andre Bauma. As a result of unrelenting conservation efforts focusing on the daily protection of individual gorillas, mountain gorilla numbers have quadrupled to over 1,000 in the last 40 years.
Location: Senkwekwe Center, Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Photojournalist Story Award Winner
The Cuban connection by Karine Aigner
A Cuban bullfinch is positioned alongside a road so that it becomes accustomed to the hubbub of street life and therefore less likely to be distracted during a competition. These birds are highly prized for their sweet voice and feisty spirit. Karine Aigner explores the relationship between Cuban culture and songbirds, and the future of a deep-rooted tradition. For hundreds of years, some Cubans have caught and kept songbirds and held bird-singing contests.
Throughout a turbulent period of economic sanctions and political unrest, these small, beautiful birds have provided companionship, entertainment and friendly competition within the community. Now with regular travel and emigration between Cuba and North America, the tradition of songbird contests has crossed an ocean. As songbird populations plummet, US law enforcement is cracking down on the trapping, trading and competing of these birds.
Location: USA and Cuba
Rising Star Portfolio Award Winner
A theatre of birds by Mateusz Piesiak, Poland
Placing his remote camera on the mud of the reed bed, Mateusz seized the opportunity to capture the moment when a passing peregrine falcon caused some of the dunlins to fly up. Mateusz carefully considered camera angles to produce a series of intimate photographs exploring the behaviour of birds.
Winner of the Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year award when he was 14, Mateusz explored his locality during the Covid-19 lockdown. “Even a small pond or park in the city centre turned out to be a very good place for photographing wildlife.” Throughout this portfolio Mateusz focuses on local birds, researching and preparing for images that were in his mind “for days, months or even years” before he finally managed to realise them.
Location: Poland
Portfolio Award Winner
Under Antarctic ice by Laurent Ballesta, France
Laurent Ballesta endures below-freezing dives to reveal the diversity of life beneath Antarctica’s ice. An underwater photographer and biologist, Laurent has led a series of major expeditions, all involving scientific mysteries and diving challenges, and all resulting in unprecedented images. He has won multiple prizes in Wildlife Photographer of the Year, including the grand title award in 2021. His expedition to Antarctica, exploring its vast underwater biodiversity, took two years to plan, a team of expert divers, and specially developed kit. His 32 dives in water temperature down to -1.7˚C (29°F) included the deepest, longest dive ever made in Antarctica.
Living towers of marine invertebrates punctuate the seabed off Adelie Land, 32 metres (105 feet) under East Antarctic ice.
Here, at the centre, a tree-shaped sponge is draped with life, from giant ribbon worms to sea stars.
I want my money back I came to see an Elephant I paid to see a conservation ambassador Inspire me to help conserve the species Especially her kind
I saw an empty shell
She looks like an Elephant But what is there to see, not Happy She is a poor teacher of Elephant lessons She is no solitary animal, but kept confined Like all captives, neurones scrambled, brain denied Stereotypy is not a dance – no, a pathetic trance A sign she can’t be happy in mind She’s not right in the head.
She is an empty shell
They have broken personalities All the Elephants with names, captive They are poor Elephant facsimiles They have the stature, the thick skin and bones They are devoid of Elephant spirit, truncated They are subjected to Floydian ‘Brain Damage’ They are all caught on the dark side (“‘As a matter of fact, it’s all dark’*) Cut off from the herd
They are empty shells
We pay the price to see: see the price they pay We fall for the old ‘conservation /education’ story We fail to see the oppression and the damage done We should be able to see for ourselves We could accept they are Sentients like us We could see them better in a sanctuary We could do the right thing Will we?
Collect all the empty shells
Put them back where they can refill Regain their freedom and society Be Elephants again, herd mentality That would be something to see Is it just a Zoological fantasy?
I find myself unhappy for Happy, again
If I find myself outside her enclosure (But I wouldn’t pay to go in anyway) Watching her sway song, groundhog days One day closer to her end of days Inspired to write yet another Happy poem Adding to ‘Not Happy’ ‘Personable’ ‘Elephant Stomp’ After the first setback of her legal person court case What would I do if I were you?
Might just as well go to a museum Pay to see a stuffed Elephant This one already is
I want my money back I came to see an Elephant Largest land animal, majestic Social fellow-sentient being Exemplary, salutary
I got an empty shell
*From ‘Brain Damage’ on the Pink Floyd album ‘Dark Side of the Moon’
**From ‘The Needle and the Damage Done’ by Neil Young
For all captive Elephants – Happy, Lucy, Shankar, The Fresno Elephants and so many more.
Written By Anthony Lovell.
What you can do to help wildlife:
Please Sign The Petition To Free Happy From Her Imprisonment At The Bronx Zoo HERE!
Support ‘Protect All Wildlife’ by donating as little as £1 – It only takes a minute but it can last a lifetime for an animal in need. Thank you.
We believe EVERY animal should be treated with respect, empathy, and understanding. We raise awareness to protect and conserve wild, captive, companion and farm animals. It is vital that we protect animals against acts of cruelty, abuse, and neglect by enforcing established animal welfare laws and, when necessary, take action to ensure that those who abuse animals are brought to justice.
Protect All Wildlife are involved in many projects to protect animals’ rights, welfare, and habitats. Money contributed to Protect All Wildlife supports ALL of our worthy programmes and gives us the flexibility to respond to emerging needs. Your donations make our work possible. Thank you for your support.
Everyone who donates will receive a Certificate of Appreciation as a thank you for supporting wildlife.
It was the moment Raju the Elephant had waited a lifetime for – a family of his own.
In July 2014 the gentle giant, who captured the hearts of people from around the world when he cried as he was freed from chains after 50 years – joined five female Elephants at Wildlife SOS’s Elephant Conservation and Care Centre in India.
His new family, named the Herd of Hope, have all been rescued from barbaric treatment.
HAPPY CHAPPY: RAJU, CENTRE, WAS INTRODUCED TO HIS NEW FRIENDS AT A CONSERVATION CENTRE IN INDIAENJOYING HIMSELF: RAJU SMILES WIDELY AS HE RELAXES IN THE POOL NEXT TO HIS NEW FAMILY – CALLED THE HERD OF HOPE.GANG’S ALL HERE: RAJU’S FRIENDS HAVE ALSO ESCAPED FROM GREAT CRUELTY AND NOW LIVE IN MATHURA, NORTHERN INDIA.
And poignantly, they flapped their ears – an expression of joy – before touching him with their trunks as they welcomed him.
Charity Wildlife SOS founder Kartick Satyanarayan, who led the rescue operation to save Raju, said: ‘We are delighted Raju has fitted in so well with the first family he’s ever had since he was orphaned by poachers as a calf.
‘He had been so terribly brutalized for 50 years that we feared he’d be unable to live with his own kind. He didn’t even know how to be an Elephant. But now it’s like he’s always been with them.
‘When we first released him, he held back, and he was clearly wary. Three of our female Elephants Laxmi, Chanchal and Sai Geeta ran up to him – their ears flapping wildly –a sign they were excited and delighted to meet him. They also made high-pitched trumpeting sounds – a greeting.
AFFECTIONATE: ONE OF RAJU’S FEMALE FRIENDS, LEFT, STROKES HIS TRUNK WITH HERS. HE WAS INITIALLY WARY OF CONTACT BECAUSE OF HIS APPALLING TREATMENT AT THE HANDS OF HIS CAPTORS.REHABILITATION: THE POOL’S WATER LETS RAJU TAKE WEIGHT OFF OF HIS LEGS – WHICH ARE PAINFUL FROM YEARS OF ABUSE.TAKING IT EASY: RAJU WAS POACHED AS A CALF – AND ENDURED AN AWFUL LIFE AS A TOURIST ATTRACTION – BUT CAN NOW RELAX.
‘Then each of them touched him with their trunks, clearly reassuring him before they wandered off into the grazing land at our Elephant Conservation and Care Centre at Mathura. It was incredibly touching after all he’d been through.’
On July 4 this year the charity along with their counterparts in India saved Raju from dying in his bonds in a daring midnight rescue operation.
A team of ten vets and wildlife experts from the charity were joined by twenty Forestry Department officers and six policemen to seize Raju in the Uttar Pradesh region.
Mr Satyanarayan said: ‘He’d been poached as a calf from the wild. Poachers either slaughter the mother, or they drive the herd into traps that are small enough only for the babies to fall into.
‘The mother cries for her baby for days after he’s been stolen – the illegal Elephant trade is sickening. The calves are then tied and beaten until they submit to their owners – their spirits are effectively broken.
’27 OWNERS’: RAJU, RIGHT, WAS PASSED FROM OWNER TO OWNER IN CAPTIVITY, AND EVENTUALLY WAS FOUND IN SPIKED CHAINS.PLAYTIME: RAJU, LEFT, HAS BEEN ABLE TO START HIS RECOVERY IN THE SANCTUARY, AFTER BEING BLIGHTED BY WOUNDS ALL OVER HIS LEGS AND BODY WHILE IN CAPTIVITY.
‘Raju’s case was particularly tragic as we believe he has been sold again and again and might have had 27 owners – he’s been treated as a commodity and beaten into accepting his new handler every two years of his life.
‘By the time we found him he was in a pathetic condition. He hadn’t been fed properly and tourists started giving him sweet food items and because he was in a state of hunger and exhaustion, he began eating plastic and paper.
‘He had no shelter at night and was being used as a prop to beg with from dawn until dusk or being used for giving tourists joy rides. And most heartrendingly of all – the chains that cut into his legs had been there for 50 years. It was horrific.
‘It took us 45 minutes to remove the shackles that had torn into the flesh on his legs for the past 50 years – an act of unthinkable cruelty.
‘His legs were so covered in abscesses and his feet so damaged by walking on hard tarmac roads, that we have spent much more than expected on his medical treatment, and we still have a long way to go as he has a serious limp and open wounds.’
TEARFUL: RAJU, PICTURED ABOVE MOMENTS BEFORE HE WAS FREED FROM CAPTIVITY, CAN BE SEEN WITH ‘TEARS’ STREAMING DOWN HIS FACE.CRUEL: ACCORDING TO HIS RESCUERS, RAJU HAD BEEN IN CHAINS FOR AS LONG AS 50 YEARS.BOUND: RAJU’S CHAINS, SEEN UP CLOSE ABOVE, TOOK 45 MINUTES FOR RESCUERS TO DISENTANGLE.
The Elephants Raju has joined have also suffered horrendously before they were rescued by the charity.
The second most recent member of the herd is eighteen-year-old female Laxmi, saved from the streets of Mumbai ten months ago. Although she was young, she suffered from severe arthritis, obesity and a heart condition.
Mr Satyanarayan said: ‘She’d been exploited and used as a begging prop, she was neglected and her owners had got her addicted to fried junk food.
‘When we saved her she was 1,200 kilos overweight and so fat we had to use a crane to get her onto a specially-strengthened truck to drive her to our centre. She was so huge her knees were giving way and she had early arthritis.
‘Our vets were concerned that she would not live much longer if she was not rescued immediately. But she has a great, if mischievous, character – even on the drive home her trunk kept sneaking through the window and she was searching in the driver’s pockets for a treat.
‘We have spent the last 10 months rehabilitating her – and at first it was a battle to get her to eat the food she should be eating. Now she’s finally getting healthier, leaner and enjoying being a free Elephant.
‘But although Wildlife SOS was given legal custody of her by the Forest Department, her previous cruel owners are petitioning the courts to get her back and so now we are in a court battle to stop her being returned to the abusive situation we rescued her from.’
MIDNIGHT RAID: WILDLIFE SOS FOUNDER KARTICK SATYANARAYAN BREAKING RAJU FREE FROM CAPTIVITY.
Chanchal, 16, was rescued on June 29, 2012, on the outskirts of Delhi after she and a second Elephant were hit by a speeding truck.
The second Elephant was killed instantly and Chanchal was left with cuts, shards of glass and wounds all over her body as well as a severely injured leg. She was undernourished and her owners were arrested for negligence.
Mr Satyanarayan said: ‘Her leg was fractured and it’s taken us 18 months to nurse her back to health. She’s slowly rebuilding her life.’
Sai Geeta was a circus Elephant who was rescued after she was made to perform for years with a broken right rear leg.
Mr Satyanarayan said: ‘She still has a terrible limp where the break was never treated – the fracture was severe and when we rescued her she’d suffered for years in pain as it was never allowed to heal as they never allowed her to rest.’
ROAD TO FREEDOM: RAJU WAS TAKEN TO THE SANCTUARY IN MATHURA, NORTHERN INDIA, IN THIS TRUCK.
Finally Phoolkali, who is blind in one eye was smuggled illegally for years before the charity was alerted to her plight and immediately stepped in to rescue her.
Mr Satyanarayan said: ‘Phoolkali had spent more than 40 years of her life doing hard labour, being abused and being underfed. And her maltreatment and severe abuse by her previous owners caused her to be blinded in one eye.
‘Her owner would hide her in a windowless, deserted warehouse. Her owner would smuggle her across state borders in the dead of night to avoid detection by the authorities as he has no valid documentation for her legal possession.
‘She was frail and scrawny and almost skeletal in appearance and covered in sores and wounds.
‘Now she loves throwing mud on herself immediately after a long bath – much to the annoyance of her keeper – and also throws mud on him when he isn’t paying attention.’
YEARS TO RECOVER: THE HEAD OF WILDLIFE SOS SAID THAT IT TAKES YEARS TO RECOVER FROM RAJU’S DECADES-LONG ORDEAL.
Today the nightmare for Raju and his herd is a distant memory. And they are also enjoying a rehabilitation pool thanks to the generosity of donors to the centre.
Mr Satyanarayan said: :We are overwhelmed by the generosity of people from so many countries around the globe. We hope that if the donations continue, better facilities can be established for Raju and the other Elephants at the Centre who all deserve a better life to make up for the abuse they suffered all these years.
‘When we rescued him, Raju had never been in a pool before – and now he spends hours relaxing inside it. We’d like to thank everyone who donated – every penny has made such a difference to the quality of his life.
‘And while the pool is immensely pleasurable for him, it also is helping his rehabilitation as the water’s buoyancy enables him to take the weight off his legs which are incredibly painful from years of being shackled.
‘He still faces years of treatment to heal both the physical and psychological wounds. And sadly he’s not alone. We have a dossier of 80 Elephants whose life is in imminent peril and they also need to be rescued before they die of cruelty, exhaustion and abuse.’
Mr Satyanarayan said: ‘Our hope is that along with Raju, we can rescue many more of these tragic cases before it’s too late for them. It will enable them to taste freedom for the first time in their lives and live out their days in dignity, free from suffering and pain.’
Support ‘Protect All Wildlife’ by donating as little as £1 – It only takes a minute but it can last a lifetime for an animal in need. Thank you.
We believe EVERY animal should be treated with respect, empathy, and understanding. We raise awareness to protect and conserve wild, captive, companion and farm animals. It is vital that we protect animals against acts of cruelty, abuse, and neglect by enforcing established animal welfare laws and, when necessary, take action to ensure that those who abuse animals are brought to justice.
Protect All Wildlife are involved in many projects to protect animals’ rights, welfare, and habitats. Money contributed to Protect All Wildlife supports ALL of our worthy programmes and gives us the flexibility to respond to emerging needs. Your donations make our work possible. Thank you for your support.
Everyone who donates will receive a beautiful Certificate Of Appreciation as a thank you for donating to help animals in need.
When the rescue team arrived in Thailand’s Nakhon Nayok province, they used anaesthetic shots to subdue the mother elephant, it resulted in her halfway falling into the hole.
The Mother Elephant Being Lifted By A Crane (Source: Thailand Wildlife Conservation Division/ Facebook)
Heavy rains and muddy roads are not just dangerous for humans but also for wild animals travelling in the wild during the monsoon. A case in point is a baby elephant that slipped and fell into a high drain in Thailand. Things took a dramatic turn when rescuers attempted to save the baby with its mother fainting in stress.
The Rescue Tean Find Mother Elephant Stuck Whilst Trying To Rescue Her Baby. (Source: Thailand Wildlife Conservation Division/ Facebook)
After the one-year-old calf fell into the manhole in the area of Royal Hill Golf Course, Khao Yai National Park in Nakhon Nayok province, its mother tried her best to help the baby walk out. However, continuous showers and slippery muddy terrain made all attempts go in vain. When wildlife rescuers arrived at the scene to help the infant, the anxious mother proved to be a hindrance in the operation. Things went awry when the rescue team used a shot to subdue the frantic elephant and she partly fell in as well.
The Trapped Baby Watches On Frantically. (Source: Thailand Wildlife Conservation Division/ Facebook)
Videos showed the rescuers racing against time to not just help the baby but the mother as well. Rescuers used a truck-mounted crane to pull the mother out before climbing on top of her to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), while an excavator was seen in action clearing the way to help the calf climb out of the drain.
“It was impossible to get near the baby while the mother was nearby so we gave her three doses of tranquillisers but she moved towards her baby before passing out and hit her head,” Dr Chananya Kanchanasarak, a vet involved in the operation explained to Sky News.
The Baby Snuggles Up To Mum Whilst A Rescuer Performs CPR (Source: Thailand Wildlife Conservation Division/ Facebook)
Dr Chananya said, “Despite the obstacles, the mother did not leave her baby’s side”. He added that the experience will be “one of the most memorable rescues” they have done.
Eventually, the calf was able to climb out of the hole and the mother elephant too regained consciousness. Video showed the calf suckling its mother as soon as it got out and helped the mother too sooth her nerves. After an exhaustive and tense operation that lasted over three hours, both returned to the wild.
After Three Hours The Mother And Calf Were Rescued And They Returned To The Wild. (Source: Thailand Wildlife Conservation Division/ Facebook)The Rescuers Watch On As The Elephant Return To The Wild (Source: Thailand Wildlife Conservation Division/ Facebook)
Support ‘Protect All Wildlife’ by donating as little as £1 – It only takes a minute but it can last a lifetime for an animal in need. Thank you.
We believe EVERY animal should be treated with respect, empathy, and understanding. We raise awareness to protect and conserve wild, captive, companion and farm animals. It is vital that we protect animals against acts of cruelty, abuse, and neglect by enforcing established animal welfare laws and, when necessary, take action to ensure that those who abuse animals are brought to justice.
Protect All Wildlife are involved in many projects to protect animals’ rights, welfare, and habitats. Money contributed to Protect All Wildlife supports ALL of our worthy programmes and gives us the flexibility to respond to emerging needs. Your donations make our work possible. Thank you for your support.
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